Red Rose Speedway

by Paul McCartney and Wings

I totally agree with Shaad D’Souza: there’s nothing more ridiculous than fifth-anniversary reissues. Second-anniversary reissues, maybe. Classic rock or whatever starts at 40 and, if it isn’t happily forgotten yet, well, let’s celebrate its 50^th anniversary then.

Now we are firmly in the golden jubilee territory. Earlier this year, Birds of Fire, Light as a Feather, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Who Do We Think We Are!, Cum On Feel the Noize, The Dark Side of the Moon, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Houses of the Holy all turned fifty. Ditto The Beatles’ Red and Blue albums (I know, I know, they are compilations, but I grew up on them, so shut up).

Enter Red Rose Speedway, an underrated gem of Macca’s discography and my favourite Wings record ever. Good thing it never made it to double albumhood coz that would be just disappointing. I don’t care what they (Wings) had in mind at the time, but this classic (single LP, that is) version is as close to a concept album as any of their works ever was. Maybe because Alan Parsons sprinkled his fairy dust on it (as he did on Abbey Road and The Dark Side of the Moon).

The Beatles were masters of medleys consisting of songs that only exist in their medleys. Here, we have a good one too: Hold Me Tight—Lazy Dynamite—Hands of Love—Power Cut. I wonder if they thought of making the whole album one big medley. I’d love that.

Here’s a fun factoid: some years ago, listening to “le fil”, a single note “thread” that runs through the length of the 2005 album of the same name by Camille, I realised where I heard this noise before. By some strange coincidence, it was “a feature” of a recording of Red Rose Speedway that we had on a double-track magnetic tape reel in the ’70s. Where this quiet but piercing sound was filtering from remained a mystery. Maybe from another dimension? When I finally got hold of the original, I missed that drone note.